An Aloof Chase
by Kisses Reflect
Summary: Annabeth is unattainable and everyone knows this. Yet, this young Californian boy is a bit more interested and to his surprise, things seem to be turning out in his way. Until a swimming Champion has swept Chase off of her feet. Canon.
1. The Age of Annabeth Chase

**Disclaimer: I have no rights to the Percy Jackson series. Rick Riordan has given a small liberty for us to use his characters unofficially on this site and that is all it is. Fan-fiction.**

**.**

I rubbed my sweaty palms against the fabric of my pants. Breathing a little shallow was not doing me any good. I felt light headed which made me start taking deep breathes.

Come on, dude! You can do this. Just sit next to her and say something!

I was beyond nervous. If someone ever heard of me acting this way, I'd be the laughing stock of the school.

But really, Annabeth Chase could have anyone tongue tied.

And there she was, sitting with the few friends she preferred to have as company at the lunch table outside on the grounds. It was a bright day and the sun shone through her hair making each strand glow like pure gold. It accented her face with the tan she had and made her eyes stand out even more than it usually does, which in my opinion, made her look stunningly lethal.

My courage was cowering in the Outback.

Annabeth Chase did not date. Period. She, the most beautiful girl anyone had ever laid their eyes upon, did not date.

Many boys had asked her. And equal number was shot down. And she seemed very serious about the way she talked to everyone. I had seen Mac from Math class being let down gently and now they're friends. I had witnessed the shock-and-awe kick she had given Josh the Football Jock when he had shoved her into the lockers in anger at her refusal. I had seen most of the talks, how the guys were always told, 'No.'

And now I, being the grand idiot who didn't want to learn from the experiences of others, have decided to take the plunge. It was like a rite of passage. Ask Chase out on a date and be rejected.

"Jackson?" Keegan Solt, my co-captain of the Swim Team, raised an eyebrow. The rest of our friends, sat around the table, sniggering at me.

"I'll give you the first step. Get up and walk towards her." Keegan said. I swiped my hand at his head.

"Why don't you go ask her, Solt? I snapped while the others started laughing. They were clearly remembering what happened when Keegan had actually asked. It involved the school mascot costume and a loudspeaker. For the sake of my friend's dignity, I will not explain and leave all you readers guessing the calamity that had taken place.

He scowled and threw his bagel at me, the most vicious form of grenades from the cafeteria.

I got up. Lance Marrow whistled.

_I need new friends._

I felt absolutely weird and awkward, dragging my feet to her table. Annabeth sat with three other girls from her Chess Club and Debate Teams. They had their heads bowed over a book from which discussed in indoor voices. It looked so serious like Presidential secrets, that I almost turned around and marched away.

I made fists of my palms and try to steel my nerves. Just ask her politely. She'd say 'no' nicely, and it'll be done with. I wouldn't be sitting all day with an ice pack between my legs like Josh or Keegan had.

_Be a man, just ask her. You like her, so it's natural to ask someone you like out on a date, right?_

I stopped when I was close enough. I cleared my throat.

None of the girls seemed to have heard. I could imagine all my friends, laughing and falling over each other like hyenas and dominoes.

"Annabeth." I called out.

The four girls turned around. They had very intense faces as though they were verifying E=MC2 .

But the moment they realized it was me, their expressions changed. Two of them looked very excited. The third leaned in to whisper something in Annabeth's ear. The latter nodded and got up.

"Hi." I squeaked out. She blinked. She had concentrated grey eyes like storm clouds. I stared at them for too long and didn't hear what she had told me.

"Um, what?"

Annabeth hesitated. I almost went into shock. Never, in the history of our high school lives have I seen Annabeth Chase looking edgy.

"You're the captain of the Swim Team, right?"

"Yeah." I mumbled. Then I straightened up and said it again properly. She knew who I was. That was a start. Of the end.

"Good. It's just that, I went searching for your coach this morning and I couldn't find him. You see, I need to take an extra course to fill my minor credits and most of the ones I've checked are already taken. If you can personally talk to Coach Manfred, for me… please? I really need this."

She was pleading with me. I've died and gone to heaven.

"Yeah… Yes, I'll definitely tell him. I mean, he won't be back until next week, so I'll have to call him. Or if you wait until next Monday, we can explain the situation. He'll understand. Uh… can you swim?"

"Yes. I know the basics, nothing fancy. But I can hold my own in a race."

"Good." I smiled. She smiled back.

**.**

"You got her to join the team?!"

I was the hero, of course. I go searching pathetically for an unattainable date, I come back with a guaranteed long-lasting friendship which could easily turn into something more.

"Dude, you're the man!" Keegan crowed, slapping me on the back. "Coach will definitely say yes! Chase in the Swim Team! Hah, Rodney will be after your guts!"

I rolled my eyes. Josh Rodney, Football Quarterback, sad victim of Annabeth Chase's self-defense. "I didn't actually ask her out –"

"No probs. You know how it's gonna go now." Keegan gloated.

"…. how?"

The guys sighed like they were tired of me. "Oh man. It's going to be like those chick flick movies my Mom watches! You and Chase become friends, you build a strong base, a relation, and the next thing we know, you're making out behind the bleachers, where Rodney will catch you and be so jealous, his heart will burst and he'll die!"

We stared at Keegan. He looked almost delirious.

"Boss? You okay?" One of the boys asked. Keegan blinked and looked at us. "What?"

"You went psycho for a sec."

"Blame my sisters."

**.**

Next week, Coach had no objections. Chase was as athletic as she was smart and nearly everyone knew this. She tore through people at track races and it was pretty obvious that her muscle tone was good enough for swimming.

After school, Keegan, a few others and I waited for her. She would be the only girl on the school's team since all the previous female members had already graduated the year before. Tragedy, yes, but the story was going to change.

I thought over to what Keegan had said. If I did spend enough time with her, would we bond? She did already know of me, so it wouldn't be too farfetched to assume she had taken a bit of interest with me…

I tried not to adjust my speedo. Coach was talking with her right outside the girl's shower rooms.

I tried not to imagine her in the swimsuit. One piece, obviously, but she was Annabeth.

I tried not to think of her like that. It wouldn't be right.

"Damn." Keegan whispered and I knew she had stepped out. I stared at the blue water, trying to focus my talent and energy when suddenly a pair of legs, girl's legs, blocked my vision.

I tried to stifle my groan.

"So, you're the captains?" Annabeth asked happily. She sported a red and black swim wear which looked like a life-guard's suit. Her body was all curves and muscles and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw one of the guys slip out of his seat from the benches and fall to the floor.

"Yeah." Keegan said. He threw an arm around my shoulders proudly, the incident of Annabeth aiming her heels for his manhood, weeks before, forgotten.

"Thanks so much. I really needed this course." She sat next to me (my conscience made me take my eyes off of her thighs.)

"Annabeth, you're so close to being the Valedictorian. Why would you need extra credits if you're already in the top ten?"

She looked away for a second. Then she forced a smile onto her face. A curl of her hair strands fell in front of her and I struggled to not tuck it behind her ear. "About that, it's embarrassing, but I had to leave school two years ago for an emergency. I just caught up on all the projects last year; I'm filling up on my credits and community service this semester. If I finish them all, then I'll have an excellent shot at Valedictorian."

"What made you leave high school?" Keegan asked, pushing me backwards to look at her properly.

Annabeth looked irritated at that. I laughed nervously and said, "Keeg's kidding. It doesn't matter what happened, Annabeth. You're doing your best to graduate and that's really amazing. Lots of people wouldn't even bother to take on all the assignments from previous semesters while the rest of the class already has their boats full."

She smiled. "Thanks Captain."

**.**

I would say Annabeth was good at swimming, but then, it would be insulting her.

She was brilliant. She had an excellent form which only needed a few adjustments to make her perfect. She moved fluidly in water, pun intended. It was like watching a water snake and it wasn't a creepy simile at all.

When she reached the end, she turned vertically and kicked off from the wall, smoothly. She seemed professional. We watched her in awe and the first thing I said to her when she got out of the pool was, "We are definitely gonna bag the Strom Trophy."

"Pardon?" She said, toweling her wet hair which had darkened to amber. She really was amazing to look at.

"It's an interschool competition held at the YMCA club. Pretty rad, actually. Teams all over the country compete."

Annabeth lowered her towel. "I didn't think about competing in anything like that. I just joined the swim team for my credits."

I tried not to feel let down by that. "Come on, Annabeth! It'll be so much fun. We don't have to win, I mean, we have to try our best but the point of the competitions is charity."

She looked interested in that.

"80% of all profits actually go to Children's funds all over the country into orphanages, adoption agencies and rural homes. Sure the competitions get intense at times, especially during the finale, but everyone knows the real cause and proceeds."

She brightened at that. "I didn't know that. It sounds like a really good way to raise cash."

"Yeah. Some are in it for the trophy and fame. We don't get medals, but it's a pretty big deal for all of us. The charity makes us feel better doing it."

I gave her a reassuring smile and I think that did it. She said, "Cool. I'm in."

**.**

We practiced for four months. Keegan and I made sure to not over-stress the team but at the same time, no slacking amount possible. Keegan was in charge of ramming every free slot of their time table with water time while I corrected their techniques, showed them tricks to adjust to their own styles and gave moral support.

It was why Coach had appointed the two of us as captains. Keegan alone had a hot head and the week I was in charge, no one did much of practice than play in the water.

We ran the team well, since we rarely butted heads.

On the day of the competitions, on the two hour journey to the club, Keegan and the rest of the douches pushed me towards Annabeth in the front of the bus for the entire ride.

She had wireless headphones on with a tiny iPod concealed partially in her hand. I didn't know what kind of song she was listening to but her eyes were closed and she seemed so engrossed that I kept quiet listening to all the whoops and laughter from the back of the bus.

The driver and the Coach were busy talking about the latest soccer trials of the school with the rivals while the Coach's young wife was flipping through a fashion magazine. Most of the trip went in this way until Annabeth opened her eyes and turned towards me. The movement was so sudden that I jerked.

"Yes?" She said.

"Huh?"

"Co-captain, you remind me of someone else."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

That was all the conversation we had.

By the time we reached the building, highly outlandish for the YMCA, we were all on our nerves.

**.**

I'd say all the rounds went well for us. Four of us got into the semi-finals of several of the tests. Annabeth into the freestyle - girls, Keegan into the freestyle - boys, Lance into the backstroke and myself into the butterfly.

Initially, I would've taken backstroke but since I was the best from our team in the butterfly style, I really had no choice.

It was probably why I came third in the semifinals. It was another couple of hours for the finales and we were resting around the separate shower rooms for each team.

"Ready for the end?" I joked with Keegan. He laughed and then took me to the corner, near the lockers.

"I think Chase is near the bleachers, watching the other races. Perfect time to make your move."

I stared. "Now?"

"Yes! Go! Be all romantic and stuff."

Easier said than done. I was good at being her friend, but trying to smooth talk? I'd rather have my legs tied to a dumb bell and be thrown into the pool.

I dragged my feet to the main room, which held one of the bigger Olympic sized pools. There were crowds from other schools rooting for the contestants in the breaststroke, finals. I watched in amazements at the speed and agility of one boy who seemed miles ahead of the others, he was clearly a winner.

Catching the sight of Annabeth seated next to the Coach and Mrs. Manfred, I dropped next to her, pretending to be exhausted by the hot showers.

"Hey, having fun?"

She grinned. "Yeah. I've been waiting for this. I couldn't catch any of his other races, but this I just couldn't miss."

I looked into the water. The race was done when one of the boys reached the edge with the grace of a fish and climbed out, the auditorium going up in screams. He didn't look familiar to me, but it was clear that he was the one everyone went crazy for in most of the previous hours.

I shook my head a bit and said, "Full of himself, don't you think, Chase? Chase?"

I blinked. She wasn't next to me. I looked around but I couldn't spot her. Where had she disappeared off to?

I got up to go back to the showers when I caught her hair, flipping out of sight at the other end of the room down a corridor. I frowned, not understanding why it seemed like she was ditching us. Had she met a friend? Did she get a call?

Dawdling in the slowly emptying room did not do me any good since I was starting to get weird stares.

The Coach yelled my name and I jumped.

"What are you standing there for?"

"Uh… sorry, I just have to go somewhere. BRB!"

He shouted about team-man-ship but I just had to know where Annabeth had gone. I raced down the steps and reached the grounds outside. It was empty, but it was the only place she could have gone from the stairs. I looked around, feeling a sense of frustration rise up in me when I heard a giggle.

It was the kind of close-quartered sound that would take place in privacy. I ignored my conscience and walked around the building and saw Annabeth and the winner of the latest race, kissing so ferociously, I thought they were both going to collapse for lack of air.

It was when the initial stage of shock had passed that I realized that she was actually kissing someone. And it was not me. It was some black haired opponent of another school team. Goode, was it? That had to be treachery or something, right?

I cleared my throat. The couple didn't look up. Nobody ever hears me when I clear my throat.

Maybe I should call them out?

I hesitated.

They were slowing down their kisses. The boy had one of his hands around her back, but the other held her face while she had wrapped him tightly around the neck. They were moving tenderly, he kissed her forehead and they opened their eyes to gaze at the others' soul.

I left.

So maybe there was a reason why Annabeth Chase didn't date. She was unattainable and I, Jackson Croft, figured it out.

As you have read, I am melodramatic. I never sought after her again.

**.**


	2. The Second Age

**Disclaimer: I have no rights to the Percy Jackson series. Rick Riordan has given a small liberty for us to use his characters unofficially on this site and that is all it is. Fan-fiction.**

.

I was getting pretty good at parallel parking. I hadn't nicked my new car (second-hand, but she's a beauty) for weeks and no one was prouder of the fact than me. My parents were relieved that I was not the stereotypical trouble-causing teen, one would expect. Really, I liked being nice.

Although, I wish I could say the same about my fellow-mates from school. This was the last year in high-school and instead of realizing that we were a few short months away from the real world, most of the senior year had taken it upon themselves to attend and gate crash every party, cause at least a bit of ruckus during classes, bunk a couple of hours and so on.

I was caught off guard into one of Keegan's trap, a Christmas party, where I had no choice but to spend, at the least, three hours since I was helping him set it up.

I still wasn't sure how I had been roped into that one.

"Yo, Jackson!"

I swung my bag over a shoulder, auto locking my ride. Walking towards the main school building, I spotted my friends from the swim team, Keegan Solt and Lance Marrow. They were sporting red, green and white clothes in the Christmas spirit. I couldn't help but laugh at them.

Lance scowled. "What's so funny?"

"You."

Keegan rolled his eyes and said, "Dude, this is_ in_. Everyone else is gonna show up wearing these colors. You'll be the odd one out."

"Okay." I nodded. "Who told you that?"

"Annabeth." Keegan said with such confidence that I laughed again. There was no doubt that she had been kidding them.

The day had been pretty normal. We had our regular classes, made the counselor run out crying after she tried to lecture about 'talking to family' (I had honestly tried to listen to her, but fell asleep along the way,) saw four guys racing on inline skates in the corridor, witnessed Annabeth smacking Josh the Football Jock (again,) ran out screaming from the cafeteria when some of the food had started to move on its own and of course, had one of our last sessions in the pool before Christmas holidays.

Our coach seemed to be on his toes, making us hurry up with the drills and spills, keeping an eye on our timings and the clock. He probably wanted to get out sooner than us.

"Marrow, Solt, Chase, Dana hit the showers. The rest of you finish the laps and if you stop for a breath, you have to start over again. Only five left, come'on."

He blew the whistle, which went straight through my ears. I immediately dived in, the need to finish first, becoming more intense.

I tried to not focus on Annabeth getting out of the water and reach for her towel. I tried hard to not think of her showering. I really tried hard to not think of her like that.

Even though I had sworn to not run after her, it was not easy. She had a boyfriend. (A tall and ripped one who looked tough enough to beat up an army.) She was off the market. She had made it clear that she was not interested in anyone else.

I hadn't told a soul about her boyfriend. It seemed the right thing to do. I wondered why she didn't tell anyone. She could've had people to stop asking her out. She could've had less problems since there were new rumors that she was being a 'prude' or was 'in the closet.'

These gossips were affecting me more than her. She seemed unperturbed at the barely hidden malice of the whispers floating through the school. Any other girl would have crumbled or lashed out at them all, but she was different.

I almost hated her for it. It made me like her even more.

"Croft!"

I just hit the edge of the pool and looked up. My heart fell. I was the last.

Coach glared at me. "That's the second time this week! Your game's slipping!"

I got out of the water, ignoring my teammates. "Sorry Coach. Tomorrow's gonna be better. I swear."

"It better be better. If you don't improve by Friday, I'm making you stay back another couple of hours. And that's for anyone who thinks it's okay to slack off even a bit!"

I groaned silently, cursing Annabeth's flawless nature for my failure.

.

On the way out, Keegan and I had been discussing about our party on Friday night, when Annabeth strolled up from behind and said, "No invite for me?"

We spun around, stammering at the same time, but she laughed. I mentally sighed. She had sounded angry. It was hard to tell when she's kidding and when she wasn't.

"Don't do that." Keegan moaned. "It gives me the creeps. And yeah, sure you're invited. You usually don't go to parties as a rule, so I thought –"

"Yeah, well it is senior year." Annabeth explained shrugging. "One party can't hurt. Besides, most of my backlogged work is done, anyway."

My eyes widened. "And…"

She grinned. "I'm in the top five for Valedictorian post!"

Keegan whooped and I gave her a high-five.

"That's brilliant! You're celebrating with the party?"

"Yup. A couple of my friends from the Chess and Debate Teams are also looking forward to it."

"No probs. The more the merrier!"

Annabeth still had her infectious grin. I couldn't stop smiling. She looked so pretty. Her hair was starting to curl through the wetness from her shower. It framed her face in a way which looked almost like a da Vinci art piece.

"The time?"

Keegan looked at his watch.

"No." Annabeth said, biting her lip, to keep herself from laughing. I couldn't find anything humorous in that. Her lips looked so soft…

"No, I meant what time does the party start?"

"Seven." I blurted. "We open at seven. People start filing in about a half an hour later. Party's in full swing by eight."

"Cool."

With those awesome words of departure, Annabeth departed while Keegan shook his head at me.

"You've got it bad, man."

"I know."

"Why can't you just grow some balls?"

"Don't be crass."

"No, seriously. I know you said you preferred to be her friend, but –"

"No buts."

"Jackson…"

"Keegan…"

"Alright, fine." Keegan relented. But then he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook so hard that my head wobbled back and forth before I could pull away.

"Solt! What –"

"Wake up! Either you ask her, or you lose the chance forever! What if someone else decides to ask and she says yes to them? What then? You'll be left wondering where the hell you screwed up! And then I'll have to pick up the pieces!"

"Keegan!" I yelled. He was really starting to get me down, now. "I'm not her type! She'd never say yes to me! Believe me, I know this!"

My best friend narrowed his eyes at me as though trying to detect some evidence of hidden guilt but I glared at him and he backed down.

"Fine. Do what you want. Don't come crying to me when you see her hooking up with a guy who has guts."

I did not have the patience and self control like that of Annabeth Chase. My face burned as I hissed, "_She's already got a boyfriend, dumbass_."

Silence, awkward silence took over. It made me realize that we were the only two people in the parking lot. My car was the only vehicle in sight and I looked at it rather than at Keegan who stared at me as though I had said something alien.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"A real one?"

"No, a mannequin."

"Wait! An actual boyfriend? Are you serious?"

I rubbed my face tiredly. I wanted this to blow over casually, but no one would let it.

"Yes. She has a boyfriend, a real guy, movie-star looks, tall, dark and handsome, the whole deal. Now will you drop it?"

I sounded stressed and didn't bother to hide it. Shooting a scowl at Keegan, I got into my car and turned on the engine. He was still standing out and I started to feel bad.

Curse my good persona!

"I'll drop you home?" I asked, hesitantly.

Keegan gave me an apologetic smile and nodded.

.

Friday's party started better than I could've expected. People were filing in in small groups, not bursting through like they were executing Guerilla Warfare. The soft drinks hadn't been spiked yet, (Keegan gave it another twenty minutes,) all rooms except, hall, kitchen and bathrooms were locked. (He didn't want to burn anything afterwards.) The music was still within the safe decibel level.

Of course, if things went too much out of hand, we could kick them out, but I wanted to enjoy the scene. It looked relatively safe. No one was hooker dancing, yet. No one was swearing, yet. And no one looked shifty enough to deliberately break one of Keegan's parents' nicer showcase pieces.

Birge Dana, our DJ, gave me a thumbs up from across the crowded room and I grinned back at him. I was determined to not get trashed. I kept looking over to the drinks and snacks table, checking if someone was loitering around it, a bit too casually. I kept an eye on the glass and other breakables around the rooms.

Keegan was already executing seizure like movements on the dance floor. He didn't look drunk or hyped, just sucking out the energy of the party into his lungs.

As the minutes passed, the music became louder, the teens started to scream along to the lyrics, people kept dropping their drinks and I was still waiting for someone I should not have been.

Annabeth and her friends still weren't on the scene. I took a seat by the french window which looked out on the backyard. Sighing and moaning about it wasn't going to get me anywhere, but I just couldn't help it. She was in a relationship and here, I was a hopeless melodramatic romantic, falling for her.

I swallowed. I hoped that I wasn't in love. Being in love in high school was fantasy. People this young didn't understand the difference between singing hormones and heart aches.

I've seen people display so much PDA in one week and ignore the other later. Singing hormones.

People looking at each other, undressing the others with their eyes. Singing hormones.

People unable to keep their hands off of each other. Raging hormones.

And yet, here I was, wondering if I just like Annabeth or loved her.

I looked out at the main entrance and then scanned the crowd. I knew I could pick out Annabeth's form from the scores of 'adults' here. I searched for glowing golden curls from the heads bobbing to the music and then, sighed again.

Keegan was shaking his assets way too much. The drinks were probably spiked. I didn't feel like checking them, opting to just sit in my spot and be left alone.

Unfotunately, one of the guys caught my eye.

"Hey! Hey you!"

He pushed his way through the dancers with difficulty. One girl with glazed eyes threw herself on him and they fell on the floor in a tangle of limbs. The shocked look on his face was so humorous that I rolled my eyes and got up to help him.

Pulling up the villian by her shoulders, I set her on my chair and took away her drink, to replace it with an unopened water bottle. She muttered her undying love for me and I said, "Ditto, stranger. Just sit here."

The guy she had tackled had gotten up, brushing his jeans for dust and giving me grateful look. I realised that I knew him from somewhere since the 'caught off guard' impression he was emmitting seemed familiar. But I shook it off and said, "You're not from Selory's right?"

He blinked, "Huh?"

"Our school, Selory Whit High. Yeah, it's a nonsensical name but what can we do?"

The newcomer grinned. "That sounds like something my girlfriend would say. Nonsensical."

I shook my head, leaning over and pushing the half-empty punch bowl out of sight. It had a different smell to it than the squash we had poured in it before. I couldn't understand why high school parties couldn't ever be done with only legal activities. I turned to watch atleast ten people stumble through their dancing and just went to sulk next to the newcomer.

He looked at me sympathetically. I got the feeling that he seemed genuinely concerned and gave him a placating smile.

"I've seen you before. You're Jackson Croft, right? You were the reason I even joined in the YMCA swimming contest. I caught a few of your races, you're really good. Great for that. It was an amazing experience!"

I nodded, not really listening. The girl behind us was talking to the air. Seventeen and eighteen year olds were doing exotic dancing. Someone spiked the pucnh as a 'joke.' Annabeth was not here.

Was this how high school was supposed to be?

"I'm from Goode." The guy continued. I barely heard him over the noise. "I don't mean to brag or anything, but it was my school's first time at the competetion for the Strom Trophy. It took me a couple of weeks to get my coach and the dean to sgree to travel all the way from New York."

I turned towards him when he said that. "You're from New York?"

He grinned at that. "Yeah. It was worth it, though."

I nodded faintly, "You guys won, right? Yeah, I remember now…"

I swallowed. I was talking to Percy Jackson. Annabeth Chase's boyfriend. Oh, this was a fine night wasn't it?

Someone screamed. Before I could even turn, Percy moved, slipping a pen into his hand so fast, I would've thought he was completely wired. He held the pen like he was about to jab someone with it, his eyes darting around, skin turning pale. I stared at him.

It turned out to be a girl dancing with Keegan. He'd swung her around the room and she looked drunk.

Percy stood up awkwardly. I watched him fiddle with the pen and rub the back of his neck.

"You okay?" I asked even though he didn't look it.

Percy gave a weak smile and said. "Yeah, just great. Uh… have you see a blonde? Curls and –"

"Annabeth." I guessed. His face brightened automatically at that. I felt my heart sink.

There was a light in his eyes that reflected from the nearest dim lamp, but I could see the happiness in it. It seemed very intense and hopeful and it made me want to back down immediately.

"You know her?"

"Um, yeah. She actually said that she'd be here…"

Percy grinned. "She invited me."

"Cool." I managed to say.

There was a commotion outside the house. A group of boys were roaring in laughter and I heard Josh Rodney's rabunctious voice through the catcalls. "Damn, she's fiesty!"

"Oh no." I muttered. I had a bad feeling where this would be going. Josh always got cocky only with girls who avoided him too much. And there were very few in that category.

I rushed outside, determined to stop any scene was that of Annabeth's friends being surrounded by Rodney's gangs.

Annabeth was stunning. This was the first time I had seen her with make-up. She had put some kind of liner which made her eyes stand out and shine under the lights from the house. A glittering top and skinny jeans to fit her face and it was no wonder Josh couldn't help himself.

I felt Percy stand next to me and saw that his face was set in hard lines. I wasn't going to miss the quarterback. Annabeth turned her face to catch her boyfriend standing at the doorstep of Keegan's house.

I thought Percy would rush to her defense, but he just folded his arms.

"No, Rodney. I'm not interested."

Annabeth's voice was clear cut. I shivered. Her eyes turned into stormy crystals.

Josh laughed at that. "Seriously, just tell me why. If it's competition you're afraid of, don't worry, we can spend all our time together…"

His voice had so much insinuation in it, I cringed. Percy looked more like a statue and Annabeth tilted her head.

"Hm… why?"

Josh stopped. "What do you mean, why?"

"Why would I want to spend time with you?"

Her blasé words caught him off guard. "What kinda question is that?"

Annabeth sighed like the conversation was exhausting. "I said, why would I want to spend time with you when I have no feelings for you?"

"Doesn't have to do anything with feelings, babe."

He leaned closer to her. Annabeth glared.

"I have a boyfriend."

FINALLY!

When she said those words, she seemed even more unattainable even though it was clear that she had been attained.

I leaned against the door. It was like a turning point in my life. The age of Annabeth was over.

It strangely felt relieving for some reason. I smiled.

Annabeth's friends didn't seem surprised by the revelation. She'd probably told them in confidence. They were the kind of people who wouldn't spread rumors unlike some others. Josh's friends looked taken aback and the leader was dumbstruck.

The situation was starting to turn funny.

I gave Percy a knowing look and he shared it back. At least, I was on the safe side.

"No, you don't." Josh said.

"Yes, I do."

"Well, it doesn't really matter. He's not here is he?"

"Doesn't matter if he's here or not. I'm not lowering myself to touch you."

And 'Oooh!' went through the gathered crowd.

Josh's smile faded. "I swear Chase, why can't you just be a normal wench?"

I edited that out. He didn't exactly say 'wench.' But you get the gist.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Wow, you're a real smooth-talker. I'll definitely hook up with you now."

"Really?"

"No. Get out of my way. I want to 'spend time' with my boyfriend."

And then, she pushed him aside, walked up the steps and gave Percy a hi-boyfriend-let's-make-out-in-front-of-the-jerk's-face kiss.

.

The rest of the party went peacefully. For me at least.

Annabeth and Percy 'spent time' on a couch in the living room before leaving early. Probably to spend more time together. And I was okay with that. She seemed distant and more like a friend. Besides, I felt it was better. It was easier to watch the couple now. Sure, they were kissing and I looked away when it got heated, but I didn't boil or feel down about it.

Josh would be the butt of all jokes for the next month. I'd be looking forward to them, especially since Keegan would be the one making most of them. He had already roared it to the party making Josh leave in anger.

I no longer felt awkward about the situation. Annabeth and I were friends. Percy was a good guy to hang out with, whenever he visited here.

In the following days, I would discover the new found peace making me a slightly wiser person.

"Jackie buddy!" Keegan shouted, tumbling his way towards me. I caught him before he tripped and tried to lead him to the dining table. The kitchen was slightly less crowded than before. Keegan fell on a chair and smiled dopily. I took his drink away from him and sat in the next seat.

"You look weeeird."

"Just different from before. I have come upon an epiphany, Keeg."

He slapped his hand on my back. My breath left me in a 'woosh!'

"Rad!" He slurred. I laughed. "You're one of a kind, man."

He looked at me. I was about to say something else, but he had this look in his eyes. I've never noticed his dark brown eyes before, but now, even though it looked clouded due to his inebriated state, there was a gaze that had made me speechless.

He leaned in and kissed me.

I hadn't even considered the possibility of not liking girls, or Keegan just being drunk, but really, that kiss changed my life. I was in the Age of Keegan Solt.

Keeg and I double dated with Annabeth and Percy a few months later. I have never looked back.


End file.
